Folia Zool. – 63 (4): 281–289 (2014)
Distribution and host relations of species of the
genus Cimex on bats in Europe
Ondřej BALVÍN1,2*, Tomáš BARTONIČKA3, Nikolay SIMOV4, Milan PAUNOVIĆ5 and Jitka
VILÍMOVÁ1
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2,
Czech Republic; e-mail: o.balvin@centrum.cz
2
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague,
Kamýcká 129, 165 21 Praha 6, Czech Republic
3
Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37
Brno, Czech Republic
4
National Museum of Natural History, 1 Tzar Osvoboditel Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
5
Natural History Museum, Njegoseva 51, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
1
Received 6 October 2014; Accepted 10 December 2014
Abstract. The species of the genus Cimex (Heteroptera: Cimicidae) are important ectoparasites of European bats. Unlike other
ectoparasites, they are attached to the body of their host only when they need to feed, otherwise they stay in refugia in bat roosts.
Consequently, they are often overlooked by bat specialists and in many countries they are either unknown or poorly characterized. This
study reports results from thorough investigations of bat roosts of diverse bat species in a Northwest-Southeast transect across Europe:
Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria. The distribution of Cimex lectularius follows the synanthropic habitats
of its principal hosts, Myotis myotis and M. emarginatus, both Mediterranean elements of the European fauna. The climate in natural
roosts (i.e. caves) inhabited by these bats in southern areas appears to restrain the presence of cimicids. In central Europe, C. pipistrelli
parasitizes, beside M. myotis, many crevice-dwelling bat species indigenous to the boreal zone. However, in southern Europe, it appears
only in connection with Nyctalus noctula. C. lectularius was confirmed for five host bat species and newly recorded for Rhinolophus
ferrumequinum, C. pipistrelli was confirmed for seven bat species and newly recorded for Myotis nattereri. The first record of C.
emarginatus outside of its type locality and Myotis alcathoe as a new host are reported. The host preferences of the species of the genus
Cimex are discussed.
Key words: biogeography, faunistics, ectoparasites, ecology, host-parasite relationship
Introduction
Because their social behavior, bats constitute a
particularly favourable environment for diverse fauna
of ectoparasites (Marshall 1982). Bat aggregations have
allowed bugs of the family Cimicidae (Heteroptera) to
develop a unique exploitation strategy. No life stage
of cimicids is permanently attached to the body of a
bat. Both larvae and adults remain hidden in refugia
in bat roosts and use the hosts only in order to feed
on their blood (Usinger 1966). However, it is also
likely that cimicids actively search for host as means
of dispersal (Heise 1988, Balvín et al. 2012b).
The impact of cimicids on bats can manifest itself as
an increase in self-grooming (Bartonička 2008). Such
discomfort makes the colony of “crevice-dwelling”
bats (i.e. bat species with a habit to roostin tight
* Corresponding Author
crevice spaces) switch roosts (Bartonička & Gaisler
2007, Bartonička & Růžičková 2013). This reduces
the abundance of cimicids, but can also promote
their spread to other suitable bat roosts. Colonies
of philopatric species of bats, which have a habit to
roost in large open spaces, i.e. attics in central Europe
(reffered as “attic-dwelling” bats elsewhere in this
paper) respond by moving within these spaces which
are often large enough to escape the reach of cimicid
refugia (Bartonička & Růžičková 2012). Furthermore,
cimicids are vectors of diverse bat pathogens or can
cause secondary infections (Williams et al. 1976,
Bowers & Woo 1981, Adelman et al. 2013).
The diversity of Cimicidae comprises 110 known
species classified in 24 genera and six subfamilies
(Henry 2009). About two thirds of the species are
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associated with bats, which were suggested to be
the original host of the family (Horváth 1913). The
remaning species are related to birds. Three batassociated species, including the bed bug Cimex
lectularius Linnaeus, 1758, have adopted humans as
another host.
The European fauna of cimicids is represented by
the genera Cimex and Oeciacus, which were deemed
synonymous (Balvín et al. 2013, 2015), and the
recently discovered Cacodmus vicinus Horváth,
1934 (Quetglas et al. 2012). Species of the former
genus Oeciacus are parasites in nests of birds of the
family Hirundinidae. Since bats may occupy these
nests (Loye 1985, Schulz 1995, Ritzi et al. 2001),
Oeciacus bugs are occasionally found on bats as well
(Rotschild 1912, Ritzi et al. 2001). However, there are
three strictly bat-associated Cimex species in Europe:
Cimex lectularius, C. pipistrelli Jenyns, 1839 and C.
emarginatus Simov, 2006.
The lineages of the bed bug C. lectularius specialized
to people and bats are completely isolated and, as
a result, morphologically and genetically distinct
(Balvín et al. 2012a). The population parasitizing on
bats has historically been considered a separate species
(Poppius 1912). Recent evidence is consistent with
this (Booth et al. 2015). Thanks to human migration,
the bed bug became cosmopolitan. However, little
is known about the original distribution of the batassociated population. The bed bug has been reported
on several bat species (Table 1) but can be regarded
as common only in roosts of Myotis myotis. Bed bugs
are also found quite often in roosts of M. emarginatus.
In central Europe, the two species usually roost in
spacious attics. In southern Europe, these bats roost
in caves that are too humid and cold for cimicids
(Simov et al. 2006). The synanthropy of bats probably
developed only in the last several centuries (Horáček
1983). Before then, bed bugs might have inhabited
caves in the Middle East, as suggested by Povolný
& Usinger (1966), who published the only report of a
bed bug in the natural habitat of a cave (Afghanistan).
The only other records from bats in this region are
by Abul-Hab (1979), from mist-netted Pipistrellus
kuhlii in Iraq and possibly a meadow in Iran (Golestan
province, 37°22′1′′ N 55°59′3′′ E, 27 May 2006, A.
Reiter and P. Benda lgt.; assigned as bat-associated bed
bug based on morphology by Balvín et al. 2012a). It is
possible that the European population of the bed bug
found on bats in the present study is of rather recent
origin. Furthermore, this bed bug population appears
to be discontinuous from the original population
inhabiting caves.
The validity of two of the former three European species
of the C. pipistrelli group was recently dismissed
(Balvín et al. 2013). Though the taxonomy has not
been completely resolved, only one species is likely to
exist in Europe and only one is therefore recognized
in this study. Morphological variation in diagnostic
characters was connected with association to different
bat species. Since the taxonomy of the other seven
species of the C. pipistrelli group described from Asia
is based on similar metric characters, the situation
found in European taxa also makes the validity of this
taxonomy questionable. Therefore, any conclusions
regarding the distribution of taxa from the C. pipistrelli
group are not currently possible. It is clear, however,
that the species group is the dominant cimicid parasite
of bats in the Palaearctic region. While the records of
C. lectularius on the crevice-dwelling bat species like
Nyctalus and Pipistrellus spp. are sporadic, these bats
are common hosts for C. pipistrelli (Povolný 1957, see
Table 1 for other references). C. pipistrelli is common
in roosts of Myotis myotis as well (e.g. Lederer 1950,
Usinger 1966). In contrast to C. lectularius, because
of its association with Nyctalus spp., the area of C.
pipistrelli in Europe stretches as far as the southern
peninsulas (Lanza 1999, Simov et al. 2006, Balvín et
al. 2012b).
Cimex emarginatus was known only from the type
locality, a roost of M. emarginatus in a building near
Primorsko, Bulgaria (Simov et al. 2006). Recently, this
species was confirmed to be distinct from but related
to C. lectularius based on mtDNA data (unpublished),
as Simov et al. (2006) presumed.
This paper reviews the records of bat-associated
Cimex species from bat roosts in Europe made during
collection of material for population genetic studies
(Balvín et al. 2012a, Balvín et al. 2013, Booth et al.
2015). The geographic distribution of the two species
in Europe is reviewed. Also, their host and habitat
preferences are discussed.
Material and Methods
In the Czech Republic, a systematic monitoring of
three species of bats (R. hipposideros, M. myotis and
M. emarginatus) included in the Natura 2000 system
is carried out (Bartonička & Gaisler 2010). Roosts
of other bat species are also occasionally visited or
searched for. The localities monitored in the Czech
Republic are maternity colonies consisting of females
bearing their young in the summer shelters. They are
mostly located in buildings. The material reported in
this study has been mostly collected from such summer
roosts by the authors by joining the monitoring teams,
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Table 1. Review of records of Cimex lectularius and C. pipistrelli for European bat species in the literature and our material. Records from
Pipistrellus kuhlii are from Iraq. The first reference for each bat species known to us is listed. For details on our records from roosts see
Supplementary material Table 2. Country codes: BG – Bulgaria, CZ – Czech Republic, FI – Finland, FR – France, GE – Germany, HU –
Hungary, CH – Switzerland, RS – Serbia, SK – Slovakia, UK – United Kingdom. The single record for Rhinolophus ferrumequinum refer to
a case when hosting cimicids was directly proved; however, Rhinolophus spp. are often found in colonies mixed with usual hosts of cimicids
where they can serve as substitution hosts as well. Bold records refer to newly recorded host-parasite relationships. * - roost shared with
M. myotis. The names M. blythii and M. oxygnathus may be synonymous.
Cimex lectularius
Bat species
Cimex pipistrelli
No. of roosts in
our material
Reference
Reference
No. of roosts in
our material
Eptesicus serotinus
Baagøe 2011
Myotis bechsteinii
Scheffler 2008
Morkel 1999
Myotis blythii
Tagilcev 1971 (Cimex sp.)
Tagilcev 1971 (Cimex sp.)
1*(HU)
Myotis brandtii
Heise 1988
1 (CZ)
Myotis dasycneme
van Rooij et al. 1982
Myotis daubentonii
Wagner 1967
Myotis emarginatus
Usinger & Beaucournu 1967
2 (CZ, HU)
Southwood & Leston 1959
Heise 1988
3 (CZ), 2 (HU),
4 (RS), 2 (SK)
Usinger 1966
Myotis myotis
Povolný 1957
Myotis mystacinus
Poppius 1912
Myotis oxygnathus
Usinger 1966
23 (CZ), 3 (GE),
5 (SK), 3 (FR,
CH, HU)
Lederer 1950
1*(HU)
Balvín et al. 2012b
Nyctalus leisleri
Bobkova 2001
Nelson & Smiddy 1997
Nyctalus noctula
Heise 1988
Povolný 1957
Pipistrellus kuhlii
Abul-Hab 1979
Abul-Hab & Shihab 1990
Pipistrellus nathusii
3 (CZ), 4 (BG,
GE, SK, UK)
Heise 1988
Rybin et al. 1989
Jenyns 1839
Pipistrellus pygmaeus
Bartonička 2007
Pipistrellus sp.
2 (CZ), 1*(SK)
3 (CZ), 1 (UK)
3 (UK)
Balvín et al. 2012b
1*(RS)
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
Vespertilio murinus
41 (CZ),
2 (HU), 9 (SK),
2 (FR, CH),
Kerzhner 1989
Nyctalus lasiopterus
Plecotus auritus
2*(HU, SK)
1 (CZ), 1 (GE)
Myotis nattereri
Pipistrellus pipistrellus
2 (CZ), 1 (GE)
Dubinij 1947
Horváth 1935
starting 2005. Some material of cimicids has also
been collected by the monitoring specialists during
the colony censuses.
The data from Bulgaria were collected 1) during a
thorough survey targeted at cimicids, covering about
500 roosts between 1997 and 2008 and 2) during the
course of a project entitled “Mapping and identification
of conservation status of natural habitats and species”
(Phase I in Natura 2000 zones in Bulgaria), covering
about 1600 diverse bat roosts since 2011.
In Serbia, a systematic monitoring of mixed maternity
roosts of Myotis emarginatus and Rhinolophus
ferrumequinum has been carried out since 2003 in the
area of southern Banat, Vojvodina province. Six roosts
have been found and shown to communicate with
each other based on capture-recapture experiments. In
addition to these, about 500 roosts of bats, mainly of
species Myotis capaccinii, M. myotis, M. oxygnathus,
Miniopterus schreibersii, Nyctalus noctula and
Pipistrellus pipistrellus, often mixed with each other
283
or Rhinolophus spp., are known over the entire area of
Serbia and examined for the presence of ectoparasites,
though not as regularly as those in Vojvodina province
or Bulgaria.
Finally, about 10 days of field work in bat roosts in
Slovakia and Hungary were carried out. Part of the
material was collected by bat specialists in other
European countries (see Supplementary material
Table 2). If possible, the close surroundings of the bat
colonies were examined for the presence of cimicids,
paying special attention to the most likely shelters
of their refugia: crevices in walls and wood below
and around the bat colony, or bottom side of objects
located below the colony. In some spacious roosts,
the colony was unreachable and only the guano and
surrounding floor could be inspected. If unsuccessful,
dead cimicids were searched for in the guano or spider
webs. The number of female bats was noted. Maximal
number of cimicids were collected, or, at least dead
individuals and exuviae; however the collection had
often to respect the need to keep the presence of bugs
from the wardens of the respective buildings.
Results and Discussion
Host relations
The records of Cimex lectularius and C. pipistrelli in
bat roosts in Central Europe, Serbia, Bulgaria and some
other European countries are summarized in Table 1
and Supplementary material Table 2. Generally, the
number of colonies monitored annually varied among
bat species. It was high in non-dwelling bats with high
fidelity to shelters, such as Rhinolophus hipposideros,
Myotis myotis and M. emarginatus. In species with low
philopatry the long-term monitoring is difficult. Even in
common species (e.g. Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Nyctalus
noctula) it is difficult to locate summer colonies. If
found, the roosts cannot be checked in the following
years as they are often destroyed or the bats relocate
during large-scale renovations of buildings (especially
prefabricated houses). Furthermore, such roosts are often
difficult to check for both bats and cimicids because of
their crevice character, in contrast to the spacious roosts
of philopatric bat species. Therefore, the numbers of
records for each bat species are not representative
with regard to the incidence of cimicids in their roosts.
However, the incidence can be considered high at least
in some species like Nyctalus spp. and Pipistrellus spp.,
given the number of records on mist-netted individuals
(Balvín et al. 2012b) or roosts inhabited by these species
(Supplementary material Table 2).
Cimex pipistrelli was confirmed as a parasite of the
attic-dwelling bat species M. emarginatus, Myotis
myotis and, possibly, M. blythii, as well as the crevicedwelling bat species Myotis brandtii, M. daubentonii,
Nyctalus noctula, N. leisleri, Vespertilio murinus,
Pipistrellus pygmaeus and, possibly, P. pipistrellus.
It was newly recorded for Myotis nattereri (Lužnice,
Czech Republic, Supplementary material Table 2).
The new record for Nyctalus lasiopterus was already
mentioned by Balvín et al. (2012b).
Cimex lectularius was confirmed to parasitize on
the attic-dwelling bat species Myotis myotis, M.
emarginatus and, possibly, M. oxygnathus, as well as
the crevice-dwelling bat species Eptesicus serotinus
and Pipistrellus sp. (see below).
Among attic-dwelling bat species, both cimicid
species were shown to be very common in roosts of
Myotis myotis in central Europe. Less than 25 % of
these synanthropic roosts inspected by the authors
were negative. In the Czech Republic, out of about
140 monitored roosts about 80 were inspected for the
presence of cimicids, which were found in 64 (~80 %)
roosts. In total, Cimex lectularius was recorded in 36
roosts of M. myotis and C. pipistrelli in 46. No cimicids
were found in the cave roosts in Serbia and Bulgaria.
Myotis myotis was the only bat species hosting both
cimicid species in one roost, though only in few
isolated cases. Mixed infestation was found only
at the colony in Dubá (Czech Republic) in 2013
and 2014, whereas in 2009 only C. lectularius was
discovered (Supplementary material Table 2). In
2009, this bat colony was complemented by several
hundred bats from a nearby roost in Doksy. In this
roost, only C. lectularius was found in the year the
bats moved to Dubá, so other, unknown bats had
to have brought C. pipistrelli. A mixed infestation
was also revealed found in Zemianske Kostoľany
(Slovakia), but among remains of bodies of unknown
age. A change of infestation from C. pipistrelli to
C. lectularius over years has likely been recorded
in Úštěk and Držovice (Czech Republic). However,
samples from these roosts were not numerous and
may not reflect the composition of the species. Part
of samples from other roosts also contained only a
few individuals but comparing the numbers of roosts
with consistent and inconsistent record of Cimex
species it is likely that populations of cimicids in
single roosts mostly consisted only of one species.
Based on this limited evidence, the mechanisms of
coexistence or competition between C. pipistrelli and
C. lectularius can only be speculated on. However, the
co-occurrence of the two species is likely caused by
the co-occurrence of different bat species in a single
roost. Attic-dwelling bats like M. myotis, frequent
284
hosts of C. lectularius, often share attics with crevicedwelling bats like Pipistrellus spp. (e.g. Hosťovce) or
Eptesicus spp. (e.g. Oleksovice; see Supplementary
material Table 2 or Czech bat Conservation Society
database, unpublished), frequent hosts of C. pipistrelli.
Myotis oxygnathus was confirmed as a host of C.
lectularius only in a colony mixed with M. myotis
(Martonyi, Hungary, Supplementary material Table
2). In the same area of the Aggtelek Karst in Hungary,
two more roosts inhabited only by M. oxygnathus
were visited and no trace of cimicids was found. As
M. oxygnathus is physically and ecologically almost
identical to M. myotis, the absence of cimicids in
the roosts of this species may not be a coincidence,
considering the at least 80 % incidence of cimicids
in synanthropic M. myotis roosts in our record. It is
possible that M. oxygnathus does not constitute a
suitable host for cimicids for an unknown reason.
In roosts of M. emarginatus, only C. lectularius was
confirmed. It was found in 11 synanthropic roosts,
often shared with Rhinolophus spp. A similar number
of roosts with similar microclimates was negative.
There is a single published record of C. pipistrelli from
M. emarginatus (Usinger 1966), while the records of
C. lectularius are at least three (Usinger & Beaucournu
1967, Protić & Paunović 2006). C. pipistrelli was
found only in two roosts of M. emarginatus shared
with M. myotis. It is possible that M. emarginatus is
the only host that C. lectularius does not share with C.
pipistrelli, at least in Central Europe and Serbia.
Further south, however, M. emarginatus has been
shown to host C. emarginatus (Simov et al. 2006).
The colony from which the type material originated
flew away in 2005. Since then, only a single record
(female) of C. emarginatus is available from mistnetted Myotis cf. alcathoe (Bulgaria, Monastery Sveti
Archangel, Malashevska planina Mts., Blagoevgrad
district, 41°51′23.04′′ N, 22°59′31.92′′ E, 10
September 2011, B. Petrov, I. Alexandrova lgt.). If the
determination of the bat species is correct, it is also
the first record of a cimicid for this newly described
species. In 2006, C. emarginatus was unsuccessfully
attempted to be confirmed by investigating a large
unfinished building of a hotel near the type locality in
Primorsko, which was inhabited by multiple colonies
of M. emarginatus and many other bat species
(Myotis blythii, Myotis sp., Miniopterus schreibersii,
Rhinolophus spp., see Benda et al. 2003). Only two
specimens of C. pipistrelli were collected in this study
(Supplementary material Table 2).
The presence of C. lectularius in roosts of Pipistrellus
sp. was shown indirectly. The bugs attacked people in
a gamekeeper’s house near Hnanice, South Moravia,
and a hunting hide nearby. In both buildings, colonies
of Pipistrellus sp. were recorded (P. pipistrellus
or P. pygmaeus; not distinguished at that time).
Although these bugs were unusually small, similar
to C. pipistrelli from Pipistrellus spp., in other
morphological characters they clearly corresponded
to C. lectularius from other bat species (Balvín et
al. 2012a). The third record of C. lectularius from
Pipistrellus sp. was made from a roost shared with M.
myotis (Hosťovce, Slovakia).
Roosts inhabited only by Rhinolophus spp. were
always free of cimicids, which is consistent with the
literature. Unlike vespertilionid bats, Rhinolophus
spp., at least in the synanthropic roosts in Central
Europe, rarely form tight clusters (Gaisler 1966) and
readily move through the roosting space. This likely
makes them an unsuitable host for cimicids. Until
recently, Plecotus spp. was similarly considered an
unsuitable host for cimicids, regarding the entire lack
of published records for such common bats. Unlike
Nyctalus or Pipistrellus spp., most of the maternity
colonies of Plecotus spp. are comprised of only a
few individuals (Anděra & Horáček 2005), which
were believed to be incapable of hosting a population
of cimicids, similar to the diffusive colonies of
Rhinolophus spp.
Out of the 140 summer roosts that are annually
monitored in the Czech Republic, at least 23 are
inhabited by species that commonly host cimicids
together with Plecotus or Rhinolophus spp.
(Bartonička & Gaisler 2010). Rhinolophus spp.
are also listed as hosts of cimicids in records from
colonies mixed with, for example, Myotis emarginatus
(Usinger 1966, Usinger & Beaucournu 1967, Protić
& Paunović 2006). A recent record of C. lectularius
has been made from Plecotus auritus (Balvín et al.
2012b). Furthermore, the first record of Cimex (C.
lectularius) from bats from Serbia was made from
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum caught by harp trap.
More recently, C. lectularius was found on three
more individuals of R. ferrumequinum caught using
the same technique, as well as on five specimens
of M. emarginatus. These bats came from a mixed
colony of the two species. One of the visits of the
colony was made in August 2013, when only a few
M. emarginatus individuals remained among about a
thousand R. ferrumequinum bats. However, the bugs
were numerous and recently fed. It is therefore clear
that Plecotus and Rhinolophus spp. are able to serve
at least as occasional or temporary, though likely less
suitable, hosts of cimicids.
285
Moreover, the preference for a specific host was not
detected in host-specificity experiments. C. pipistrelli
repeatedly sucked on the bat species in whose roosts
they have never been observed (Zedníková 2010). In
conclusion, the bugs of the genus Cimex appear to be
common ectoparasites of 20 bat species in Europe
(Table 1). The difference between the ranges of host
species of C. pipistrelli and C. lectularius may suggest
different host preferences. These preferences can
result from different ecologies of the respective bat
species (tree or building dwellings versus large attics),
as C. lectularius is found mostly on attic-dwelling bat
species. However, the historical distribution of some
of the host bat species, especially Myotis myotis, may
have played a more important part.
Geographic distribution of cimicids and their hosts
While Cimex lectularius as a parasite on man is
cosmopolitan, the distribution of the bat-related
lineage has never been reviewed. To our knowledge,
the records come from the following countries:
Afghanistan (Usinger 1966), the Czech Republic
(Povolný 1957), Finland (Poppius 1912), France
(Usinger & Beaucournu 1967), Germany (e.g. Eichler
1937), Serbia (Protić & Paunović 2006, misidentified
as C. pipistrelli) and Slovakia (Usinger 1966). Our
records extend the known distribution to Hungary,
Switzerland (Table 1) and Ukraine (Table 2 in Balvín
et al. 2012b, record from a mist-netted bat).
The distribution of Cimex pipistrelli has been recently
reviewed by Péricart (1996). More recent records of C.
pipistrelli are by Krištofík & Kaňuch (2006, Slovakia)
and Simov et al. (2006, Bulgaria, Greece). The species
was newly recorded from Lebanon, Ukraine and Spain;
however, all these findings come from mist-netted bats
and were listed already by Balvín et al. (2012b).
As cimicids are parasites of bats in their summer
roosts, the geographic distribution of cimicids follows
the breeding areas of their host species. Records
from overwintering bats are singular (Simov et al.
2006). The host range recorded for C. pipistrelli
and C. lectularius (Table 1), comprising many bat
species with diverse ecologies, may suggest that their
distribution evenly covers all Europe. However, this
is not true based on comprehensive data available
from five countries covering a Northwest-Southeast
transect across Europe: the Czech and Slovak
Republics, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria. Although
the incidence of cimicids in roosts of crevice-dwelling
bat species in central Europe cannot be exactly
determined, considering the numerous records in our
material or the literature, cimicids can be regarded as
more or less frequent in their roosts. The incidence
of cimicids in roosts of attic-dwelling bats in Central
Europe appears to be high.
This situation is in contrast with the frequency of
records from Bulgaria. Records from 1997-2006,
coming from the comprehensive survey of about 500
roosts in caves, buildings, bat-boxes and tree holes,
as well as from examination of about 20000 captured
bats were summarized by Simov et al. (2006). They
comprise the finding of the newly described C.
emarginatus in a roost of M. emarginatus and only
two records of C. pipistrelli from Nyctalus noctula.
Since 2011, an even more extensive survey as part
of Natura 2000 has covered about 1600 bat roosts.
Furthermore, an additional ca. 10000 mist-netted bats
were examined for ectoparasites during the period
2007-2013 in the Tabachka Bat Research Station.
During these surveys, no cimicids were found. In
addition to these surveys, 1) the second record of C.
emarginatus was made; 2) C. pipistrelli was found
in Primorsko, as mentioned above; 3) C. pipistrelli
was found in 2004 (though only at a photograph) and
in 2013 in a bat-box inhabited by Nyctalus noctula
at Sedemte Prestola Monastery (Western Balkan
Mts., see Supplementary material Table 2); and 4)
unidentifiable Cimex specimens were found in 2006
in guano under a roost likely inhabited by Nyctalus
noctula in the entrance of Devetashka cave (Lovech
Province, see Supplementary material Table 2).
Numerous roosts of Myotis emarginatus were
examined in southern Vojvodina, a northern province
of Serbia, documenting the likely reason for the
absence of C. lectularius in bat roosts in the southern
Balkans. If the non-dwelling bat species M. myotis and
M. emarginatus can be regarded as the principal hosts
for C. lectularius, as suggested by the limited records
from other bats, the absence of C. lectularius on bats
in the Balkans can be explained by the characteristics
of roosts, as suggested by Simov et al. (2006). The
temperature in deep caves, where Myotis spp. typically
roost, is usually below 15 °C, while the humidity
often reaches 80-90 % (e.g. Paksuz et al. 2007). The
combination of low temperature and high humidity
has been shown to be unfavourable or even lethal for
C. lectularius, and its development is arrested below
13-15 °C (Kemper 1936, Omori 1941). In central
Europe, these bat species are synanthropic, inhabiting
warm and dry attics. In more southern areas, they
mostly occupy their natural habitats of large caves,
which are often too humid and cold for cimicids. In
Vojvodina province, northern Serbia, C. lectularius
seems to be common in roosts of M. emarginatus in
286
buildings, whereas in the roosts in caves in central and
south Serbia, cimicids have not been recorded.
However, the reason for such low frequency of
records of C. pipistrelli in Bulgaria and Serbia is less
clear. Only about one third of the bat roosts examined
during the Natura 2000 mapping in Bulgaria were in
humid and cold caves, which are often inhabited by
M. myotis and M. emarginatus. The rest inhabited
shallow, dry caves or their entrances (e.g. the entrance
of Devetashka cave, Bulgaria, where remains of bugs
were found), tree holes, bat-boxes and buildings
which should be suitable for cimicids.
As an explanation for the low frequency of records of
both Cimex species in southern Europe, it is possible
that stable colonies of attic-dwelling bats like M. myotis
provide long-term local reservoirs for infestations in
roosts of crevice-dwelling bats. Colonies of such bat
species as Pipistrellus spp. or Nyctalus spp. often
split and change roosts during the breeding season,
a phenomenon that has been described as the fissionfusion behavioural model (Kummer 1971). This
behaviour efficiently reduces the numbers of bugs in the
roosts and may be occurring, at least partially, for this
purpose (Bartonička & Růžičková 2012). Infestations
of a local population of a bat species can eventually be
eliminated through this behaviour. This is supported
by genetic data on both C. lectularius (Balvín et al.
2012a, Booth et al. 2015) and C. pipistrelli (Balvín
et al. 2013, Wawrocka in litt.), which show no hostassociated structure and suggest frequent switching
between bat species within regions. In southern
Europe, stable infestations in roosts of attic-dwelling
bats are absent and therefore cannot be the source of
re-infestation of crevice-dwelling bats.
However, this is only partly true for Nyctalus species,
at least N. noctula. Almost all records of C. pipistrelli
from southern Europe [Bulgaria, Greece (Simov et al.
2006) and Italy (Lanza 1999)] and Lebanon (Balvín et
al. 2012b) are from N. noctula. Only the record from
Spain (Balvín et al. 2012b) was from N. lasiopterus.
The southern limit of the breeding area of N. noctula
is 48° N (Kaňuch & Celuch 2004). In summer, only
males and non-reproductive females are found south
of this limit. As suggested by Simov et al. (2006), it
is possible that all the records of C. pipistrelli from
southern Europe are only temporary transmissions
by N. noctula. However, at least in the bat-boxes in
Cherven and Sedemte Prestola Monastery (Bulgaria),
C. pipistrelli was found in two subsequent years
(Simov et al. 2006, Supplementary material Table 2).
It is therefore possible that stable populations may
occur here. N. noctula transmits cimicids much more
often (Balvín et al. 2012b) and is much more migratory
than other bat species. Therefore, if the hypothesis
of local reservoirs of cimicids in M. myotis roosts is
valid, in situation when the reservoirs are missing, the
local populations in N. noctula roosts are not likely to
die off like in other crevice-dwelling bat species.
In conclusion, the distribution of Cimex lectularius
and C. pipistrelli is not consistent across the areas of
distribution of their host bat species (i.e. different host
relations are found in different areas). The distribution
of cimicids is presumably shaped by the ecology of
bat species. However, it is possible that some bat
species provide reservoirs of cimicids, and changes
in their ecology across their area of distribution may
affect populations of cimicids on other bat species.
Acknowledgements
Our deepest thanks have to be expressed to all our colleagues who
collected material for the study (listed in Supplementary material
Table 2), but also to many researchers who only attempted to
collect and are responsible for the negative records. The study
was supported by the grant of Ministry of Education, Youth and
Sports of the Czech Republic no. SVV-2013-267 201 and the
grants from the Grant Agency of Charles University in Prague,
Czech Republic no. 122/2006 B/Bio and 2010/45610.
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Supplementary online materials
Table 2. List of records of cimicids in bat roosts. IC – identification code of samples in the collection of Ondřej Balvín. Unlabeled collections
are deposited in the collection of Tomáš Bartonička; CC – country code (BG – Bulgaria, CZ – Czech Republic, FI – Finland, FR – France,
GE – Germany, HU – Hungary, CH – Switzerland, RS – Serbia, SK – Slovakia, UK – United Kingdom); HS – host species: more species
listed mean mixed colonies (UBS – unknown bat species, Eser – Eptesicus serotinus, Mbra – Myotis brandti, Mdau – M. daubentonii,
Mema – M. emarginatus, Mmyo – M. myotis, Mbly – M. blythii, Moxy – M. oxygnathus, Mnat – M. naterreri, Nnoc – Nyctalus noctula, Pip
sp. – Pipistrellus sp. (P. pipistrellus or P. pygmaeus), Ppyg – Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Reur – Rhinolophus euryale, Rfer – R. ferrumequinum;
NF – number of female bats at the collony; BS – cimicid species (Clec – Cimex lectularius, Cpip – C. pipistrelli). (Excel file; URL: http://
www.ivb.cz/folia/download/balvin_supplementary_table_2.xls).
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